OT: My latest blog on Lowetide.ca "Punch up in Piestany remembered"
- Thread starter Jumptheshark
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Suxnet
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- Jan 4, 2012
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I hate this narrative. Anyone who thinks fans who pay top dollar for tickets and fill out their arena are a problem can go pound sand. It's used as an excuse for hockey execs and players when they perform poorly and have no other way out. I don't care what sport it is. The fans have done their job when they buy the tickets. I consider it a huge slap in the face when a guy like Eberle is making millions of dollars while barely doing anything out on the ice and then has the guts to complain about fans hating on him. Fans don't turn on a player for no reason and there's nothing that pisses off fans more than players not trying.
Satire
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- Nov 20, 2016
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I enjoyed it. I can't comment on the European experience, but I can agree to the North American one. We certainly can be nicer to our players and respect them as human beings a lot more. It bothers me on an ethical level, but really it also bothers me because we have lost some great hockey players over the years because of how we use these players as a punching bag.
I mean it is great when we are winning.... but when we are losing its pretty awful. I can't see it changing though. We live in an immediate gratification society.
I mean it is great when we are winning.... but when we are losing its pretty awful. I can't see it changing though. We live in an immediate gratification society.
Too many grammar/syntax errors to comment on.
Your comment about fans never playing sports at a high level doesn't necessarily mean that fans are part of the problem. What sport have you played at a high-level? Personally I haven't, but I have family members who have and do currently. I get that athletes are human beings. At the end of the day most fans aren't jerks and dismissing fans without that "high-level" experience comes across as snobby. There isn't a professional sport in the world that exists if its fans had only played sports at a high-level.
Hyperbole and exaggeration don't help your case. Was an Oiler ever really burned in effigy? Was Schultz really almost in tears? Perhaps a link to that one might have helped.
Where can you pay $40 to sit on the glass in the NHL? Certainly not in Edmonton. The 'take them behind the barn' analogy is weak.
There is a lot of anxiety in pro sports There is a lot of anxiety in any job that pays millions of dollars a year. That's the way life works.
It doesn't mean that fans have free rein to be complete jerks. Those kids who were chirping Eakins when he picked up his kid at school were ill-mannered little brats. You could have made your point much better with examples like that.
At least I actually read the piece.
Soliloquy of a Dogge
I love you, Boots
Couldn't agree with this any more. Bang on.
Fans who shell out hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, on tickets, apparel etc. have the right to voice displeasure with players and demand some level of accountability/effort. Yes, they're human beings, but it's not like fans are wishing physical/emotional harm on them and/or their families. Sure, some take it too far but those "fans" are the exception and not the rule... anybody who can't differentiate between an athlete's performance in their sport and their personal life as a citizen outside of it probably aren't very well functioning members of society to begin with anyway.
I mean, if you're making millions of dollars playing a game that anybody else would give anything for, you should be able to compartmentalize to some degree and filter out the noise while still being able to perform. If not, hire a sports psychologist. It's not as if these players weren't aware of what would come with being a professional athlete in the public spotlight. The greatest athletes of all time are able to tune out criticism and/or use it to better themselves.
Oilslick941611
Registered User
just because someone pays money for anything does not entitle them to bash another human being on a personal level and name call. Some of the stuff Oiler fans have said over the years have been down right pathetic and accusations about players sleeping around with teammates wives both past oilers and current oilers are sickening. the media and the fans in this regard are disgusting, and again any amount of money anyone pays to watch a game where someone shoots a rubber puck into a net does not entitle them to speak this way. of course they can, but I also reserve my right to think less of them having voiced or expressed those opinions.
its no wonder Edmonton has a bad reputation among players and the league as a whole, the fans are ravenous and that does not excuse poor behaviour. Its just a game after all.
Soliloquy of a Dogge
I love you, Boots
And this.Too many grammar/syntax errors to comment on.
Your comment about fans never playing sports at a high level doesn't necessarily mean that fans are part of the problem. What sport have you played at a high-level? Personally I haven't, but I have family members who have and do currently. I get that athletes are human beings. At the end of the day most fans aren't jerks and dismissing fans without that "high-level" experience comes across as snobby. There isn't a professional sport in the world that exists if its fans had only played sports at a high-level.
Hyperbole and exaggeration don't help your case. Was an Oiler ever really burned in effigy? Was Schultz really almost in tears? Perhaps a link to that one might have helped.
Where can you pay $40 to sit on the glass in the NHL? Certainly not in Edmonton. The 'take them behind the barn' analogy is weak.
There is a lot of anxiety in pro sports There is a lot of anxiety in any job that pays millions of dollars a year. That's the way life works.
It doesn't mean that fans have free rein to be complete jerks. Those kids who were chirping Eakins when he picked up his kid at school were ill-mannered little brats. You could have made your point much better with examples like that.
At least I actually read the piece.
Jumptheshark
Rebooting myself
For me there is a line and some of the abuse I have seen crosses that line.
All because you pay some money does not give you the right to treat people like shit
All because you pay some money does not give you the right to treat people like shit
VainGretzky
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- Jun 4, 2015
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Yes Canadian fans are more rabid when it comes to hockey , now do a blog on European soccer fans compared to North American ones , you will get same results and even worse . Hockey is not huge in Europe . European Soccer they're more rabid than Canadian hockey fans.
bobbythebrain
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- Jul 30, 2016
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Totally agree. And the end result is it hurts the team overall. Fans and media want a competitive team and championships, yet their actions weaken the overall pruduct
It sure would be nice to have Ebs and Schultz in the line-up right about now
You go much further than that in your piece.
When has an Oiler ever been burned in effigy? When was Schultz almost reduced to tears?
Jumptheshark
Rebooting myself
Do you recall the Chris Pronger's fire? It was reported the Schultz was shaken towards the end of his tour with Edmonton when he got bood everyone touched the puck
No, I don't remember either.
You could provide a links to proved such outrageous claims. That is if either really happened.
Aerrol
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- Sep 18, 2014
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Or he's basing it off of conversations he's had with NHLers. JTS has a pretty long track record of discussion with NHL execs and players, I'm willing to back that up. He predicted the Slepyshev draft pick/actually leaving the KHL well before anyone in the media, for instance.
Pronger:
Chris Pronger's nasty allegation: "They burned my kid's crib."
Sorry. Not an effigy. His child's f***ing crib. How much better.
Speaking of children, Dallas Eakins' daughter bullied:
Dallas Eakins' Daughter Has Heartbreaking Encounter (VIDEO)
Enough evidence for you? I don't have a link for Schultz having a breakdown, but I damn well can believe it. The turnaround between his play here and in Pittsburgh is pretty clear evidence to me that he was having some serious mental difficulties here.
Aerrol
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Also this is entirely accurate. I'd argue that outside of maybe the KHL, its mostly a numbers game. Soccer fans are equally disgraceful in their fandom over in Europe. It's something I wish the fans would avoid, but it comes with the territory of incredible obsession/love for a game. Human beings in large, passionate groups tend to be collectively terrible, regardless of individual intent.
My post seemed to get deleted so here we go again. JTS, I really liked the article. Screw the mocking of the grammar in the piece - I thought you cleaned up the grammar in it so much that I didn't even recognize it as your writing, so bravo on writing a much more professional piece than your posts here. And I agree 100% with your thoughts. It's unfortunate that the sums of money involved in the NHL seem to eliminate any sympathy or empathy in so many fans minds. It's not just shameful, it's downright counterproductive towards having a winning team to cheer for. But it's also not changing and it's not new - they knew what they signed up for when they signed those NHL contracts.
You actually didn't read the story you linked to about Pronger or the entirety of this thread. Apparently it was a discussion on this here message board where the discussion of burning Pronger's kid's crib happened. It was a discussion and nothing more. Gross, but it still didn't happen. HUGE difference between a discussion and it actually happening.
The thing about Eakins' daughter is tragic. That is the incident I referred to a few posts up. JTS' piece would have been better if he had taken the time to use truthful examples.
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Aerrol
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Touche, I did not read closely but I can very well remember the degree of vitriol from people around town and online at the time. That said, I agree with you there; always better to stick to solid evidence to prove your point so I won't argue with you further.
That said, I stand by my overall point that I don't think JTS is making things up. And that his article's central point is a good one - the market in Edmonton/Canadian cities is insane and very often crosses the line IMO. And that doesn't help their cause in producing good, competitive teams.
VainGretzky
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^^ Russians are soccer mad all of Europe is, in Sweden Soccer is way bigger than hockey , I find it rather insulting JTS trying to make Canadians look unreasonable when it comes to sports when he lives in England who has a long history of fan violence, Why the Ugly Spectacle of Fan Violence Has Returned to Soccer
Aerrol
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I didn't really read it as trying to make Canadian fans look bad or unique so much as talking about how the hockey fandoms are different. But yes, I do think that he could have touched on the numbers game too.
He may not be consciously making things up. Just might by misremembering them.
The poor writing, insults and misremembered stories really detract from the piece.
100% agreed. I don't think it really happens much anymore. Rowdy fans at kids games get banned real quick.
Took a pill in Sbisa
2showToffoliIwascool
I feel like this argument would hold merit if the players visited online message boards. But they don't, so they aren't exposed to that. I can't feel bad for the players who expose themselves to it on Twitter either as it's completely their choice to do so.
There was no Pronger burning. Fact.
Eakins kids got teased? 90% of kids in school get teased at some point. Welcome to school life.
Part of an athletes job is being the subject of public opinion and dealing with criticism. Look at Cristiano Ronaldo; half the soccer world hates him but he still manages to be one of the best players on the planet every single year.
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Jumptheshark
Rebooting myself
for those who forgot the hanging of Jimmy Carson his first game back
Unloved in Canada, Carson Is Glad He Found a Way Out
"Read one sign, hanging next to a stuffed Oiler sweater with Carson's name on the back: "We Hang Wimps, Whiners and Quitters."
at the start of the game the stuff oiler sweater with carson on the back was hung lynching style at the start of the game near center ice upper deck--later it was just placed on the stairs
Unloved in Canada, Carson Is Glad He Found a Way Out
"Read one sign, hanging next to a stuffed Oiler sweater with Carson's name on the back: "We Hang Wimps, Whiners and Quitters."
at the start of the game the stuff oiler sweater with carson on the back was hung lynching style at the start of the game near center ice upper deck--later it was just placed on the stairs
Oilslick941611
Registered User
theres your opinion, then there is decency, the fact that you just defended a kid being bullied tells me all I need to know about you as a person and how seriously I should take your opinion. you really should rethink some of your opinions if you think a kid being bullied about his dad's profession and competency at it are fair game and perhaps your are part of the problem that we are discussing here.
being in the public eye doesn't give us the right to pick apart their lives and start rumours, call them names and bully their kids. I don't know about you, but I don't know in what world that is acceptable, but then again, you defended a kid being bullied, so who knows. Maybe I just have a better sense of decency than most. Its game, nothing that happens on the ice is worth getting angry and attacking another person over.
Oilslick941611
Registered User
however poorly written or misremembered the stories are, there is a central point to this article that really sticks out like a sore thumb to the oilers fan base, and its because its true.He may not be consciously making things up. Just might by misremembering them.
The poor writing, insults and misremembered stories really detract from the piece.
100% agreed. I don't think it really happens much anymore. Rowdy fans at kids games get banned real quick.
